scarcev wrote:Once again excuses for Marshall, oh poor dittums is playing at half back, poor dittums doesnt have another half, poor dittums tries too hard. WHAT ROT! His kicking game in the first half was terrible, he found a Bronco on the chest every time, not one of their back three had to move to field a kick. The pass from dummy half was forward, last week he dropped the ball at dummy half twice. He doesnt run straight to put the defence in two minds, he runs sideways and either gets thrown into touch (again!!) or offloads to a teammate who is thrown over, often he calls people inside so they can get smashed, he doesnt run at the line. Defending your line for the 4th set in a row and he does a short kick and chase. Anyone who is happy with their most expensive player at the moment doesnt know footy.

Your right man...and I dont like saying that but he is trying so hard at the moment that his efforts are fast becoming detrimental to the side.

He's a great touch football player!!!
I really didn't think it would take this long for people to see what a poor player Benji really is, he has been playing like this from day 1 and i have been criticizing him for just about as long. That chip kick last night sums him up right there, he'd rather try to get on a highlight reel than do whats best for his team. I know if i had a player in my side that did what Benji does i would give him a mouthful.

I believe if he just played percentage football and lead from the front last night, we would've won quite comfortably. But once again, (as Hybrid said) he threw foward passes, kicked early in the tackle count when it wasn't required and kicked straight down the throats of the opposition wingers.

He still got a long way to go if he wants to get back to his best. It all starts by going back to basics and making sure he's got his game sorted out and make sure he cuts out these silly errors he makes every match.

He also got to start taking the line on. Even if he's not successful, I don't care, eventually he'll get it right and he'll pull off that side-step he's become famous for.

wicked_j wrote:i thought his chip and regather would've worked if we actually had chases on kicks, if he had a support player with him they would've come close to scoring

The thing is these incidents are off the cuff, spur of the moment actions usually only known by the players performing them.....need someone very quick and in close proximity like a slater or soward to support these type plays

True.. But McKinnon was sniffing around most of the game, I'm not sure how fast he is, but those two could get a good combination going if they worked on it (especially benji's communication, it worked well for him the other week when he got i think beau ryan to come back inside of him?)

wicked_j wrote:i thought his chip and regather would've worked if we actually had chases on kicks, if he had a support player with him they would've come close to scoring

The thing is these incidents are off the cuff, spur of the moment actions usually only known by the players performing them.....need someone very quick and in close proximity like a slater or soward to support these type plays

Exactly, and the only time it came off last night was right near the death when he grubbered through and had McKinnon off his right shoulder to regather.

There is nothing wrong with Marshall actually doing the low percentage plays. His job IS to produce the X-factor for the team. It's the stability required in the halves which is clouding a lot of supporters views.
IF the squad had a genuine halfback, Marshall's plays would be much welcomed by all, regardless if they are low percentage. The stable half usually compliments this with their high percentage plays.
Really.. have a good think about it..

QUOTE WestsTigers:"Fitzhenry is a very experienced player and will assist in providing leadership to the younger players in the Wests Tigers squad"

QUOTE Tim Sheens:"We owe our fans an apology for that today"

QUOTE Stephen Humphreys:"it was important to secure Fifita for a longer period"

The forward pass to Fulton did not look forward. It was a bad call and it was a good ball.

His kicking game was good. Farah made the dud kicks at the start and Benji took over. His little chip kicks weren't bad.

The running out wide with the step towards the try line was atrocious.

It wasn't a good game but the forwards were terrible and he had a half next to him that is a real good centre, winger or fullback.

He needs to get back to form and he needs a half that complements him. He should stop worrying about fitting into a position. He should base his game around running. He should run hard and straight around the middle of the field. He should also ball play because he is a gun at it and then he should put in the occassional kick. He should be trying to bust the defence and set up his outside backs without making any mistakes.

He needs to watch his games from the start of this year and the end of last year. He needs to make a commitment to being the best player in the game. Sheens needs to stop screwing with the team and its key players.

Take the organiser role away from him. Take the kicking game away from him (in general play) and just let him run. Marshall isn't the player we all know he can be if he plays with structure. He looks uncomfortable, the the side's attack suffers as a result. As a half, be it a halfback or 5/8th, first or second receiver, call it what you will....you can be a good ball player but it doesn't necessarily mean you're a good organiser or leader. Benji isn't. Not yet anyway. Sheens' see's it in him and this may prove to be the case in years to come, but at present he is far from the organiser or leader that can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and dictate the outcome or result. It takes time and comes naturally. It can't be forced or rushed.

Gobbs wrote:Ta, but at present he is far from the organiser or leader that can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and dictate the outcome or result.

I think he can but just by playing to his strengths and not trying to complicate his game. As an example he took over the general kicking against the broncos and did a good job but it took away from his strength which is his running game.

A good example was the Newcastle game when he just started going ballistic by running the ball. He did it in a couple of game last year. Against the dogs in the last game of the season he runs first and lets everything else follow.

tiger05 wrote:The forward pass to Fulton did not look forward. It was a bad call and it was a good ball.

His kicking game was good. Farah made the dud kicks at the start and Benji took over. His little chip kicks weren't bad.

The running out wide with the step towards the try line was atrocious.

It wasn't a good game but the forwards were terrible and he had a half next to him that is a real good centre, winger or fullback.

He needs to get back to form and he needs a half that complements him. He should stop worrying about fitting into a position. He should base his game around running. He should run hard and straight around the middle of the field. He should also ball play because he is a gun at it and then he should put in the occassional kick. He should be trying to bust the defence and set up his outside backs without making any mistakes.

He needs to watch his games from the start of this year and the end of last year. He needs to make a commitment to being the best player in the game. Sheens needs to stop screwing with the team and its key players.

The forward pass was forward. His kicking game found a Bronco on the chest every time, I counted the ball hitting a Bronco chest 11 times and the ground twice! How is that a good kicking game. The chip kick after defending your line for 4 sets in a row and being under pressure was a low percentage poor play, the regather and throw in the air plain dumb. Getting thrown into touch on the 1st, inexcusable. Calling players inside, repititious and overused. Running sideways too often.

Lets stop looking for excuses, he is our highest paid player and compare what he offers on a weekly basis to other players at other clubs on the same money. Im not saying I dont want him here but I am saying he is going awful atm.

tiger05 wrote:The forward pass to Fulton did not look forward. It was a bad call and it was a good ball.

His kicking game was good. Farah made the dud kicks at the start and Benji took over. His little chip kicks weren't bad.

The running out wide with the step towards the try line was atrocious.

It wasn't a good game but the forwards were terrible and he had a half next to him that is a real good centre, winger or fullback.

He needs to get back to form and he needs a half that complements him. He should stop worrying about fitting into a position. He should base his game around running. He should run hard and straight around the middle of the field. He should also ball play because he is a gun at it and then he should put in the occassional kick. He should be trying to bust the defence and set up his outside backs without making any mistakes.

He needs to watch his games from the start of this year and the end of last year. He needs to make a commitment to being the best player in the game. Sheens needs to stop screwing with the team and its key players.

The forward pass was forward. His kicking game found a Bronco on the chest every time, I counted the ball hitting a Bronco chest 11 times and the ground twice! How is that a good kicking game. The chip kick after defending your line for 4 sets in a row and being under pressure was a low percentage poor play, the regather and throw in the air plain dumb. Getting thrown into touch on the 1st, inexcusable. Calling players inside, repititious and overused. Running sideways too often.

Lets stop looking for excuses, he is our highest paid player and compare what he offers on a weekly basis to other players at other clubs on the same money. Im not saying I dont want him here but I am saying he is going awful atm.

It could be worse... We could have Hayne...

"This club means a lot to me and I really love this club, I love playing here, I love playing with all of the boys, it's what I've known for pretty much all of my life and I'm happy to be here." - Luke Brooks.

tiger05 wrote:The forward pass to Fulton did not look forward. It was a bad call and it was a good ball.

His kicking game was good. Farah made the dud kicks at the start and Benji took over. His little chip kicks weren't bad.

The running out wide with the step towards the try line was atrocious.

It wasn't a good game but the forwards were terrible and he had a half next to him that is a real good centre, winger or fullback.

He needs to get back to form and he needs a half that complements him. He should stop worrying about fitting into a position. He should base his game around running. He should run hard and straight around the middle of the field. He should also ball play because he is a gun at it and then he should put in the occassional kick. He should be trying to bust the defence and set up his outside backs without making any mistakes.

He needs to watch his games from the start of this year and the end of last year. He needs to make a commitment to being the best player in the game. Sheens needs to stop screwing with the team and its key players.

The forward pass was forward. His kicking game found a Bronco on the chest every time, I counted the ball hitting a Bronco chest 11 times and the ground twice! How is that a good kicking game. The chip kick after defending your line for 4 sets in a row and being under pressure was a low percentage poor play, the regather and throw in the air plain dumb. Getting thrown into touch on the 1st, inexcusable. Calling players inside, repititious and overused. Running sideways too often.

Lets stop looking for excuses, he is our highest paid player and compare what he offers on a weekly basis to other players at other clubs on the same money. Im not saying I dont want him here but I am saying he is going awful atm.

The thing i find most amusing is he always plays like this, but because he usually pulls something off every now and then all the crap seems to be forgotten.
But now it's been a while since he has thrown a flick/no look pass everyone is noticing what he delivers 95% of the time. I bet if the chip kick came off and we scored everyone would be talking about Benji the superstar and forgetting that the rest of his game was pathetic.
And don't bother using the halfback excuse because he plays just as bad no matter where he receives the ball.